Vitebsk

Vitebsk gave the world Marc Chagall — and for a few dazzling years after 1918, his People's Art School made this provincial river town the avant-garde capital of the world, with Malevich and the UNOVIS group painting the streets themselves. Today it's the country's festival city: the giant Slavianski Bazaar each July, the gleaming Assumption Cathedral rebuilt on its hill over the Dvina, and an old town that rewards slow wandering.

Don't miss

• Marc Chagall House Museum — the tiny brick house on Pakroŭskaja Street where the painter grew up; his floating lovers make more sense once you've seen his sky
• Assumption Cathedral — climb the grand staircase up the hill for gold domes and the best view over the Dvina
• Slavianski Bazaar amphitheatre — one of the region's biggest music festivals fills the city every July
• The Art Museum & UNOVIS trail — trace the years when suprematism was born here
• Suvorov Street — the pedestrian lane of cafés, buskers and galleries

Getting there

Fast trains from Minsk take about four hours; buses run similar times. Vitebsk pairs naturally with the Braslaw Lakes to its west for a northern loop.

Eat & sleep

Sleep near the old town between the cathedral hill and Suvorov Street. In July, book months ahead — festival week fills every bed in town.

Links & maps

• Google Maps — Vitebsk
• Festival timing — When to Visit
• Trains — Getting Around